


She Calls My Name As Shelter

by fromfanontocanon



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:38:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1944912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromfanontocanon/pseuds/fromfanontocanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: She calls my name as shelter not realizing I am the storm.</p><p>Written to fill a prompt for the Olicity Hiatus Project Fic Challenge.</p><p>A re-imagining of what would have happened if Oliver discovered ahead of time that Felicity was Slade's ultimate target.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Calls My Name As Shelter

“Oliver,” Diggle whispered. “In here.”

In the dark, Oliver walked slowly towards his voice, entering a room with a board full of pictures.

“What is this?” he asked, looking through pictures of him, Felicity, and Diggle tacked up to a large bulletin board spanning one wall.

“It looks like surveillance…” Dig responded, going through the photos on the table. He picked up a huge stack—the largest of all—mostly with Oliver and Felicity at Queen Consolidated, outside a few restaurants, in front of Verdant...

“Looks like they’ve been watching me,” Oliver said, moving to the other side of the table.

“It’s not you they’ve been watching,” Diggle replied in a soft voice, handing him a large stack of pictures that no longer featured him.

Oliver‘s body tensed as he realized exactly who Slade’s target was.

“It’s Felicity.”

* * *

Oliver pulled his bike into an old abandoned shed, when Felicity noticed Dig pull up behind the wheel of the Bentley.

“What are we doing here?” she asked Oliver, who doesn’t answer.

Diggle emerged from the car, and Felicity directed her question to him this time, “What’s going on?”

Oliver exchanged a look with Diggle, before pulling Felicity to the side while his bodyguard watches.

“When I decided to tell you…about what I really do, I made a promise to myself. That I would protect you,” Oliver said.

“Oliver—“ Felicity started. Her fingers reached out to stroke his arm, and he hated how she made his name sound like a lifeline when knowing him had put her in danger far too many times.

“Felicity! I really…I _really_ need you to hear this.” Oliver interrupted. She nodded as he continued. “Every decision I have made since then has been to protect you.” He gently placed a hand on her cheek, and looked straight into her eyes. “Every decision, Felicity,” he repeated, quickly pressing the dart into the nape of her neck. She grabbed the area where the needle entered, but before she could react, his image blurred in front of her and she felt the heaviness that made it impossible to hold herself up. As she collapsed, Oliver wrapped his arms around her, one arm coming up underneath her knees as he lifted her up to his chest, carrying her to the blue sedan that just pulled up.

Barry emerged, concerned. “Felicity? What happened? Is she okay?” he asked, running to the passenger side back door to open it.

“I had to drug her,” Oliver explained, laying Felicity down on the backseat. He moved her hair away from her face and let his fingers graze her cheek for a second before looking away, the weight of his actions now bearing down on him.

“You did what?!” Barry yelled. “You drugged her and _I’m_ supposed to be the one to tell her when she wakes up? She’s going to kill _me_. And _you_. She’s going to kill you.”

Oliver ignored him, grabbing his wrist. “Barry, you don’t stop for anyone, and you don’t come back. She doesn’t leave your sight until this is all over.” He handed him an envelope. “And if you don’t hear from us, you put her on a plane to this location and you make sure…you make sure she’s safe. You got that?”

Barry took the envelope and held out his hand to shake Oliver’s. “I’ll keep her safe. I promise.”

Oliver nodded, walking back to the car where Diggle was waiting. He got in and watched as Barry carefully pulled out and headed towards the freeway. He could feel Diggle’s eyes on him, and feeling the need to defend himself, said, “I didn’t have a choice, Dig. She stayed in the Glades when we knew an earthquake was going to hit. She was never going to leave willingly.”

Diggle turned the ignition, stirring the car to life. “Hey man,” he said. “Me not saying anything…that was me agreeing with you. Just wish you had told her why. She deserved to know that much.”

* * *

“Barry?” Felicity asked, rubbing the nape of her neck, as she sat up slowly. “What are you…” She squinted as she struggled to remember what happened.

Barry offered her a small smile as he approached, a glass of water in hand. “How are you feeling?”

Two fingers came up to massage both sides of her temple. “What am I…What..?” Her voice trailed off as images flooded into her head: Oliver coming for her, demanding she come with him, taking her to the outskirts of town. Her hand flew back to the back of her neck, running concentric circles over the slightly swollen area. She let out an irritated puff of air, clenching her jaw tightly before yelling, “I’m going to kill him.” Leaning on the couch for support, she attempted to get herself up, only to fall back down again.

Barry placed a reassuring hand on her back, nodding as he held the glass out. “This might help.”

As she let the water ease the dryness in her throat, Felicity fought back tears of anger. She tried to rationalize Oliver’s actions, but the events of the day had felt too much like betrayal to make much progress in that department. He had fed her that whole speech about being partners, and she had bought it, only for him to sideline her on game day.

She shut her eyes, her body starting to shake as she repeated, _“I’m going to kill him!”_

Barry nodded slowly. “Felicity. He had his reasons.”

"What he has is a _really_ annoying savior complex,” she muttered, wiping the tears that were now pooling in her eyes.

He reached out, laying his hand over hers, giving her fingers a light squeeze. She met his eyes, lips trembling as she fought back tears.

"Wanting to protect people," he began, "comes with the territory of loving them." He holds her gaze for a few seconds to let the weight of his words sink in. "I never had a chance, did I?" He smiled sadly, but there was no bitterness in his tone. It was more of a statement than a question, really; a confirmation of what he had seen between them in his short time in Starling City.

Love, trust, respect. It was never a one-way street. He had suspected as much the first time he met them, but recent events erased any doubt from his mind.

She looked down at her hands. “It’s not like that, Barry. It can never be like that. Believe me, we’ve sort of, kind of…already had this conversation.” She remembered the exchange after Russia. “Well, as much as Oliver is capable of having a conversation about feelings,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder. “He’ll do anything to protect me, but he’s not in love with me.” It surprised her how liberating it was to say that out loud; to acknowledge it, and maybe finally remove the little shards of hope that she didn’t even realize still dug into her heart.

She laughed because how else was she supposed to react to a suggestion this ludicrous?

Barry sighed, looking away from her, interlocking his fingers as he leaned his arms on his knees. “Felicity.” He took a deep breath. “We happen to have stumbled upon a situation I know a lot about,” he mumbled under his breath. He shifted his feet before meeting her eyes again, pensive and somber. “I can recognize a man in love with someone he thinks he can’t be with…” His voice trailed off, his eyes darting to the framed picture of the beautiful, smiling girl sitting on his night stand.

She understands then that they were always doomed. That they sought each other out because they’re both eternal optimists—hoping to recreate in each other the spark that they already found with someone else.

He smiled back at her, lifting an eyebrow up. “I should know. I spend enough time looking at him in the mirror.”

* * *

Oliver tracked her from a distance, the shade of a large oak tree giving him reprieve from the unrelenting heat of the sun. He doesn’t fight the smile that finds its way to his lips at the sight of her rolling her eyes at Barry, remembering the last time he was on the receiving end of that look. The way her face crumpled in disapproval prompted a soft chuckle from him, something he never dared do in front of her.

To the untrained eye, she seemed happy. He’d see her smile, nodding sporadically at whatever Barry was saying. But even from afar, Oliver couldn’t help but notice all her tells—the furrows in her forehead and the distant look she kept trying to hide behind fake laughter; the way she looked away when taking in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few seconds before plastering on a tight-lipped smile that never quite reached her eyes. That was his Felicity—polite despite the turmoil she fought inside. She’d keep the conversation going, her attention focused on anyone but herself.

Guilt weighed on him, a tightness in his chest there was no escape from. He hated himself for what he had put her through, knowing the decisions he’d made to keep her safe physically had meant destroying her emotionally.

Digg appeared beside him, unwrapping a stick of gum and popping it in his mouth. “You gonna let her know we’re here? Preferably today?”

Oliver nodded. “She’s going to kill me,” he said with a sigh. “I survived Slade just so I could meet my demise with Felicity.”

As if on cue, Felicity turned, her gaze falling on the two men watching her. Her jaw dropped open, and she reached over to call Barry’s attention to Digg and Oliver’s presence.

Oliver cringed. “Shit.”

Barry held his hands out in front of her, walking backwards as she marched determinedly forward, clearly attempting to calm her down. Oliver shook his head, knowing it was futile, bracing himself for the storm she was going to rain down upon him.

He took a step forward, releasing her name in a soft voice, a plea on his lips.

“Felicity. I didn’t have a choice.”

She pulled her hand back and slapped him on the arm—hard—her expression clearly determined to inflict pain. Eyes moist and twitching as she fought back tears. “You always have a choice!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “You can’t treat me like some child…”

John placed a hand on her shoulder gently. “Felicity, he had to…”

She held a finger up. “ _Don’t. Please_ don’t take his side.”

She turned back to Oliver, and he could already see the softness return to her eyes as she took him in, like sunlight filtering into a dark room in the early morning, as her gaze fell to the swollen patch of skin on the corner of his lips, black and blue strangulation marks on his neck, fingers coming up to trace the gash on his forehead that needed a few stitches.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

He nodded, taking the hand that rested on his newest scar, pulling her towards him. “I’m sorry,” he murmured into her ear, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “I’m so sorry.”

There are more words, lingering on the tip of his tongue, but courage was always something he lacked when it came to her. So he doesn’t tell her. Doesn’t confess how much he loves her; that he can’t lose her; that, one day, he is going to be the man who deserves her, the hero she sees.

But not today.

He exhaled as she nodded, relief settling into his bones at the knowledge that she’s already forgiven him.

She keeps proving just how much he doesn’t deserve her.

“I want to go home,” she mumbled into his chest, pulling away and meeting his eyes.

He gave her a slow nod, allowing himself to tuck a lock of her behind her ear, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, let’s go home,” he agreed.

She broke away to say a quick goodbye to Barry, before throwing herself at Diggle and allowing herself to be led to the car.

“I never did thank you…” Oliver trailed off, holding out his hand to Barry, “for saving my life the first time.” He turned over his shoulder, watching Felicity laugh at something John said. “And now you’ve done it again.”

Barry smiled. “You ever going to tell her that?”

Oliver nodded, his lips turning upwards instinctively at the thought of a future with her. “I think that day is coming. Soon.”

And the moment he heard his own words, he knew he’d keep fighting to make them the truth.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this to fill a prompt. I don't actually want this to happen on the show. Just posted here for easier reading for those who were following the story on Tumblr.
> 
> EDITED TO ADD: Also, this is probably the most out-of-character fic I've written, coz let's face it. There's no way Felicity wouldn't just go back to Starling City.


End file.
